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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25236814">Can I be Close to You?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightMyStar/pseuds/LightMyStar'>LightMyStar</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adrien stops being oblivious, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Episode: s02 L'insaisissable | Troublemaker, F/M, Identity Reveal, Kissing, Makeouts, Sleepy Cuddles, Surprise Kissing, for my own comfort and sanity, rated T for language and some kissy kissy scenes, they're around 17/18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:40:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,567</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25236814</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightMyStar/pseuds/LightMyStar</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Something in Marinette’s mind went haywire as her hands reached up to gently touch Adrien’s cheeks, which were just as lovely to caress as they were to gaze at. His eyes widened, and his smile wavered, understandably baffled by the sudden contact, but before he could get out a word of questioning, the girl in front of him lifted onto her toes and placed her lips softly against his. Marinette could feel how supple his lips were as they melded into hers, an inaudible sigh of contentment escaping her while her eyes fluttered shut.</p>
<p>            It took roughly two seconds for her to comprehend that-</p>
<p>            <em>Oh my GOD-</em></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir &amp; Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>75</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Can I be Close to You?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            “Look, about what you saw on the show… the totographs… in my room...”</p>
<p>            “You mean the photographs?”</p>
<p>            “The grotographs, exactly! It-it’s not what you think… See, I’m really into fashion, and… Mmm…”</p>
<p>            “Are you lying…?”</p>
<p>            Marinette’s breath caught in her throat as Adrien leaned in close, their faces mere inches apart. His eyes glinted mischievously, matching the grin that was now ingrained on his oh so perfect face. Something in Marinette’s mind went haywire as her hands reached up to gently touch Adrien’s cheeks, which were just as lovely to caress as they were to gaze at. His eyes widened, and his smile wavered, understandably baffled by the sudden contact, but before he could get out a word of questioning, the girl in front of him lifted onto her toes and placed her lips softly against his. Marinette could feel how supple his lips were as they melded into hers, an inaudible sigh of contentment escaping her while her eyes fluttered shut.</p>
<p>            It took roughly two seconds for her to comprehend that-</p>
<p>            <em>Oh my GOD-</em></p>
<p>Instead of simply drawing away from the kiss, Marinette removed her hands from Adrien’s cheeks and planted them on his chest, pushing him away as thoughts rambled through her brain, which felt like it was ablaze. She was prepared for him to grab her hands and pull them off, prepared for the inevitable look of disgust because oh my <em>God </em>she just kissed <em>Adrien Agreste.</em> What she wasn’t prepared for, however, was the expression on Adrien’s face; it was a look that suddenly made all the flames turn into wiring, which in turn short-circuited. His face was flushed an irresistible shade of pinkish-red, with his green eyes locked on hers, his mouth slightly open and lips glistening from the kiss. It was an expression she had never seen him wear, one that was hard to decipher while her brain was trying to recover; had she not been so caught up in the throes of her panic, it would have been evident that his reaction was not a negative one.</p>
<p>            This gave a whole new meaning to the catchphrase “Bug out!”</p>
<p>            She was <em>literally </em>bugging out.</p>
<p>            “I-I-I-I-I-“ Marinette sputtered, staring right into Adrien’s eyes, her own unblinking and wide open.</p>
<p>            <em>Shit!</em></p>
<p>            Before Adrien could say anything, she spun and bolted from the locker room, nearly slamming into Alya and Nino as they were about to enter.</p>
<p>            “Marinette?” Alya turned and watched her friend run rapidly up the stairs and towards the bathroom, then turned to look at the model who was still in the same awestruck position, staring where the black-haired girl had been as if he was absolutely unaware of the fact that she had just run for her life and was no longer standing in front of him.</p>
<p>            “Alright, Agreste,” Alya practically growled, walking up to Adrien and prodding him right in the middle of his chest. “What happened? Did you give Marinette a hard time about those photos? You know, she-“</p>
<p>            “-ssed me…” Adrien murmured, raising his hand to brush lightly against his lips</p>
<p>            “What?” Nino walked up next to Alya, putting a hand on his best friend’s shoulder questioningly.</p>
<p>            “She… Marinette, she… kissed… me…” </p>
<p>            As soon as those words were spoken, Adrien brought both hands up to run through his hair, his face gaining a darker shade of pink, and he sunk to the floor, crouching before falling back onto his butt, hiding against his knees and hands. Alya gave Nino a look, and they nodded to each other as she ran from the locker room and he squatted beside the blonde model, ruffling his hair encouragingly.</p>
<p> ...</p>
<p>            Marinette sat on the floor in one of the stalls, trying to take deep breaths while Tikki attempted to comfort her, knowing they were alone in the bathroom. </p>
<p>            “Marinette, it’s not as bad as-“</p>
<p>            “Yes it <em>is</em>,” she whispered, her head resting against her knees, her arms wrapped around her legs as if she was trying to make herself smaller. “Tikki, you don’t understand, you don’t just… <em>kiss</em> someone like that, I-“ Suddenly the reality of the situation hit her with the weight of a thousand bricks and made her groan while her blush felt like it heated up her whole being. “I <em>kissed</em> Adrien… Oh my gosh, Tikki, I <em>kissed</em> Adrien <em>Agreste</em>, the guy who I’m <em>in love with</em>. Could the past fifteen hours get any worse?”</p>
<p>            “I don’t see what the big deal is,” Tikki nuzzled against Marinette to get her to look up.</p>
<p>            “It’s a big deal… a <em>huge</em> deal…”</p>
<p>            The bathroom door creaked open, preceding the sound of Alya’s voice as she called out for Marinette, sounding worried with a hint of… teasing? Marinette couldn’t tell, honestly, but she knew Alya was definitely concerned about what had just transpired. Tikki took her hiding place in Marinette’s bag as soon as Alya made her presence known. </p>
<p>            “Girl, come out, let’s talk.” </p>
<p>            “Whhyyyy,” Marinette groaned, standing up anyway in preparation for coming out to do just that. Alya stood in silence, not wanting to answer such an obvious question, instead just tapping her foot against the only closed stall in the bathroom. The tapping continued until the door opened, revealing a very red, very flustered Marinette, who honestly just felt pretty done with the day even though it had not even started yet.</p>
<p>            “No tears? I’m surprised and impressed.” Alya wrapped her arm around her friend’s shoulders, leading her towards the door. “I thought you would be absolutely freaking out right now.”</p>
<p>            “I <em>am</em>!” Her voice squeaked, and she cleared her throat quickly as she continued. “I’m assuming you know what happened already… I don’t know what came over me!”</p>
<p>            “I have to admit, when I talk about you telling Adrien how you feel, this is never what I have in mind!” A laugh erupted from Alya as they left the bathroom. Her expression turned to concentrated concern, however, when her friend seemed to tense up even more than she already was. “Are you okay?”</p>
<p>            Marinette shrugged her shoulders and stopped before they reached halfway to their classroom. It seemed more surreal than anything, which is probably why she wasn’t absolutely having a meltdown right now; she expected to wake up from this dream, late for school as always, and run in to discover that none of this actually happened. There were feelings of confusion, mortification, a hint of happiness, and dread circling inside her, unyielding and unforgiving even as her heart slowed to a normal rate. And she thought fighting akumas was difficult…</p>
<p>... </p>
<p>“Nino… I don’t understand…” Adrien groaned against his legs, squeezing his eyes shut. “Why? I mean, Marinette is just so… so…”</p>
<p>            “She can be strong-willed when she wants to man, you know that,” Nino laughed. “I mean, the only one she has a problem talking to is, well, uh, you.” Adrien lifted his head, showing the adorable shade of pink his whole face had turned, looking every bit as flustered as he felt.</p>
<p>            “Then <em>why</em> would she <em>kiss me</em> if she can’t even <em>talk </em>to me?” he whined, pleadingly gazing at his best friend, feeling more lost with every passing minute. Somewhere in his bag, Plagg was trying his very best to shove cheese in his mouth so he wouldn’t burst out in amused laughter. Unfortunately, the holder of his miraculous did not feel nearly as tickled by the whole situation. Adrien scratched at his head frantically, hoping it would give his brain a jump-start. “I mean, come on, Nino. It makes no sense.” Nino looked away awkwardly, biting his lip and trying his best not to look suspicious, but did ultimately fail. “Nino… what do you know?”</p>
<p>            “Nothing, why?” Nino said, a little <em>too</em> quickly for Adrien’s liking.</p>
<p>            “Nino…” Adrien warned in a lower tone, staring down his friend with unamused exasperation.</p>
<p>            “Nothing I can tell you, dude, sorry!” Nino held his hands up and shook his head. “Look, I’m here to support you, but I think you and Marinette need to talk this out on your own. I’ve known Marinette for a long time, and I know she can be impulsive occasionally, but never like this.”</p>
<p>            Adrien sighed and buried his face back against his knees, deciding not to push it if Nino really couldn’t tell him anything about whatever he was keeping to himself. He just felt so confused about everything. Marinette’s lips were so... soft. His hand reached around and touched his lips, and the blush that he had been trying to keep at bay came back with a vengeance. </p>
<p>            “I guess I can try to talk to Marinette during lunch,” Adrien mumbled, turning so he could peek out at Nino. “But what if she won’t talk to me? I mean, she... k-kissed me, but still. She doesn’t seem to be able to talk to me.”</p>
<p>            Nino patted his friend’s back to reassure him. “I’m sure Alya will be telling Marinette that she needs to talk to you, too.”</p>
<p>            “I hope you’re right, Nino.” With one more long sigh (Adrien was pretty sure he would collapse a lung at this point) he stood up and grabbed his school stuff. “I don’t think I’ll be able to concentrate in class, though, knowing she’s right behind me.”</p>
<p>            “Guess you’ll see what she deals with...” Nino muttered under his breath. “Well, let’s go. The sooner we get to class, the sooner lunch break will come.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I've seen a couple of these floating around right after Troublemaker aired, but I haven't actually read any of them, so I wanted to do my own spin on it without looking at other fics. This will be an overall angst-free fic, as I don't typically write angst. Lots of fluff, cuddles, and cuteness are ahead!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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